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Abbotsford Panthers punch ticket to 3A basketball provincial title game

Panthers take on SMUS Blue Jags on Saturday at 5:45 p.m., Yale and MEI fall in respective semis
Ben Lypka
Ben Lypka
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The Abbotsford Panthers senior girls basketball team celebrate after clinching a berth in the 3A provincial title. (Rick MacDonald photo)

The Abbotsford Panthers will play for the 3A girls basketball provincial title tomorrow (Saturday) inside the Langley Events Centre.

Abbotsford Senior qualified for the championship game with a 75-67 win over the R.A. McMath Wildcats on Friday (March 3).

McMath led 14-12 after one, but the Panthers roared back in the second and led 36-27 at halftime. The lead slipped to as few as three points, but the Panthers led for the remainder of the game.

Malia Lenz led all players with 27 points and was the player of the game for Abbotsford. Panthers forward Nyah Vermeulen added 22 points.

Abbotsford will be squaring off with the Victoria-based St. Michaels University Blue Jags, who defeated the South Kamloops Titans 43-32 in the other 3A semifinal.

The Panthers last won provincial gold in 2020 and Lenz was also a key part of that team as a Grade 9 player. The family tradition continues as younger sister Sorel Lenz is on the team this season.

The Panthers and SMUS tip-off at 5:45 p.m. at the LEC.

RELATED: CHAMPIONS: Abbotsford Panthers senior girls finally win the big one

Meanwhile in the 4A tournament, the Yale Lions fell 68-55 to the Walnut Grove Gators on Friday night.

Yale led 13-9 after the first quarter, but Walnut Grove went on a 13-0 run in the second quarter to run away with the game. The Lions did cut the lead to as low as eight in the second half, but were unable to make the comeback.

Yale’s Maggy Curtis had an excellent offensive game and led the Lions with 23 points. The Lions could not stop Gators star Kiera Pemberton, who scored 40 points in the win.

The Lions will now play for third place at 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.

The MEI Eagles junior girls’ title hopes also ended on Friday, as they fell 52-33 to the Brookswood Bobcats. The Eagles trailed 20-6 after one quarter and could not muster a comeback. MEI’s Olivia Sidhu led the Eagles with eight points.

MEI now takes on the Argyle Piper in the third place game at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday.

Visit abbynews.com for continuing coverage from the event.

RELATED: Trio of Abbotsford girls basketball teams one win away from provincial final

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Panthers guard Malia Lenz was named player of the game in Friday’s semifinal. (Rick MacDonald photo)
Ben Lypka

About the Author: Ben Lypka

I joined the Abbotsford News in 2015.
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